Using audio to inform urban design for Hollywood, CA

When one thinks of Hollywood, CA they mostly think of the entertainment industry. Many of the prominent urban landmarks for the neighborhood even revolve around the movie industry: The Hollywood Walk of Fame, Grumman’s Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood sign. However, the neighborhood has over 100,000 full time residents from all walks of life. In addition, the neighborhood is experiencing massive amounts of urban renewal as several residential developments replace blocks of older buildings. The neighborhood is in a large state of flux.

Invited by the design firm Radical Craft and Woodbury University School of Architecture, I created a project to audio interview past and present Hollywood residents and workers to define what their neighborhood means to them - their collective memories. We kicked off the project with a gallery exhibit showcasing the early interviews while collecting new ones. The interviews are raw data for urban designers, artists and architects to inform them to create urban structures that inform the soul of the neighborhood to help retain it for the neighborhood’s future.